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Vereva/Majicium
General Majicium is the primary religion of Vereva. Most other religions of the planet are different sects of Majicium that differentiate themselves based upon which of the Majicium gods are worshipped the highest. Majicium or one of its derived faiths has at some point in time received official status or recognition in all countries and autonomous regions save Lorelei, whose existence is due to a large scale movement away from the religion. Followers of the religion, called Majicians, were once widespread across the globe as the dominant culture but are now ridiculed and oppressed in some regions. Belief The Majicium faith is not one of creation, but one that tells of the origin of each race's sorcery via a goddess who fell to Vereva during a 2 million year old war between the gods called the Cataclysm[1]. The story is recounted in the holy scriptures of Majicium called the Thaumopaedia. : To read the story of the faith, see Thaumopaedia Thaumopaedia The Thaumopaedia is the book containing the holy scriptures of the Majicium faith. It was written originally in Almsaundean runes in the Era 0 Year 15 (final year of Bevesta) as a compilation by the seven remaining sentient races. It is composed of 144 chapters, the first 12 of which tell the story of Bevesta, collectively referred to as the Anthology[2]. The chapters of the Anthology are named for the gods she mentions in the chapter. However, each chapter also has a traditional long name that summarizes the chapter. * Chapter 1 - Bevesta (Coming of Bevesta) * Chapter 2 - Kalle (Loss of Sentience) * Chapter 3 - Khebryel (Birth of Xahl) * Chapter 4 - Eivissa (Fall of the Manticores) * Chapter 5 - Rigori (Fall of the Centaurs) * Chapter 6 - Xahl (Coming of Age) * Chapter 7 - Cle and Palmirra (Cle and Palmirra) * Chapter 8 - Na (Cry for Help) * Chapter 9 - Mjrn (The World Aligned) * Chapter 10 - Gertrud (Reascension) * Chapter 11 - Asrim (Dogmas of the Goddess) * Chapter 12 - Mattias (Gifts of Bevesta) The Anthology followed is by 24 chapters of hymns and 108 chapters of Majick prayers. Coming of Bevesta : 1 In the time before time, twelve races inhabited Vereva: : 2 There existed the Aelves of the Isles, and the Trolls safely in the Mountains, : 3 The Dwarves of the Far North, and the Treants drinking from the Fountains, : 4 The Minotaurs roaming the Open Plains, and the Centaurs watching the Celestial Skies, : 5 The Giants within the Wandering Forests, and the Gnomes timid within the Caverns, : 6 The Manticores under the Eternal Sun, and the Ogres stomping the Frozen Grasses : 7 The Humans near the Luring Rock, and the Thaumaturges waltzing the Endless Sands. '' : 8 ''And the world was both great and grand and the lands rich and fruitful. : 9 And the races were diverse and prosperous and too, denizens of peace. : 10 But the skies were always painted of fire, of crimson and honey and gold, : 11 But on that day the skies were striped with bronze and chartreuse : 12 And a roar thund'rous echoed greatly and deeply : 13 Until all eyes, sightful and blind, all ear, aural and dead turned upward to take witness. : 14 Behold, two beings plummeted as stone-killed birds from beyond the fires of eternity. : 15 One of visage and body of Troll; This One fell atop the peak of a great community of mountains, : 16 And His great body with great speed crushed the ground and split apart the great land of the west until it was two. : 17 There He spake his last word which were apologetic to those like Him and His kind followed lead of His silence : 18 And it was so. : 19 And the other, yeah, a woman, and Her visage and Her body were like a Thaumaturge; : 20 And Her fall was of greater fortune. : 21 So She fell, Her loins in the vernal bloom of fertility as She streamed chartreuse into the air, onto a great lands of many trees. : 22 And the lands shook and quaked and its thunder was audible in ev'ry corner of the seas and the lands beyond them. : 23 And the great lands of many trees split apart tenfold by tenfold and became like a scar. : 24 And there She lay in slumber for four and four and four sleeping cycles and Her kind followed lead of Her slumber : 25 And it was so. : 26 And as She awoke, and as Her kind awoke, : 27 They and She saw four and four and two of the other races as mirrors staring back at them and Her. : 28 And She spoke: : 29 "Where is the four and four and fourth of you? Where are the Trolls? : 30 But their hearts held too much fear to respond. And they were silent. : 31 And some time passed before the bravest of them, a Minotaur, answered to Her: : 32 "The Trolls became dull and listless as fauna as That One of you crashed into the mountain." : 33 Then, She rose to fall again on broken limb and mangled body and those like Her cried our for Her pain and She said: : 34 "I demand you take Me to His mountain on whence He has fallen." : 35 And the four and four and two remaining races, and the race alike Her obliged; : 36 Each lifted highly a part of Her mangled body and commenced a pilgrimage : 36 To the beaches and to the shores and to a great ship on which they placed her, and themselves, and baskets of food, and jugs of fresh water. : 37 For four and four and four sleeping cycles, four and four and four waking cycles, they voyaged the salt oceans calm, : 38 Never to look back, only to guide Her, this woman alike a Thaumaturge but unlike them in Her fertility : 39 Until then they reached the mountains. : 40 And they carried Her up the mountain and its steepness, : 41 Four and four races lifting either arm, four and three races lifting either leg, : 42 Until they reached That One at the mountain's wint'ry peaks. : 43 And the mangled woman saw with Her own eyes His heart pierced by mortal wound : 44 Where He laid unflinching. : 45 And she spake unto the people a sequel: : 46 "That One was the God of the Troll Form four and four and four days twice past. But fear not, for I am still; I am Bevesta and I yet live." : 47 In a feat of strength, She, Bevesta, rose to Her mangled feet, still within the throws of fertility, and took That One on Her shoulders : 48 And Bevesta buried the God of the Troll Form deep in the lost caves of the mountains and said unto the denizens of Vereva: : 49 "Hark, for this day is melancholy! For He were my kin, born of same parent. I called Him Kalle." : 50 And thus the peoples called the mountains with His likeness, yeah, and the mountains were known as Kalle. Loss of Sentience : 1 And peoples of all races flooded in, rumors of the mountain's name giving pursuit of truth. : 2 And the four and four and three remaining begged the goddess and coaxed Her: : 3 "But who is and were and will have been That One rememb'red, Kalle, God of the Trolls?" : 4 And then She, Bevesta, thought a while and a great deal and decided best to honor the races' inquiry by truth. : 5 And She avowed: : 6 "I am Bevesta, Goddess of the Thaumaturge Form, and My struggles decide fate of Myself and those of My likeness, the Thaumaturges. : 7 I, in the lateness of My fertility, battle for the rights to Vereva and the rights of those of My likeness, the Thaumaturges. : 8 Shall I win, I and those of My likeness shall and will and shall and will be proprietor of realms mortal and heavenly and eternal. : 9 Shall I lose, I shall and will and shall and will speak My word final and take slumber eternal in silence, : 10 And My kind shall and will and shall and will take adherence in My silence with loss of sentience." : 11 And Vereva and its races large and tall, hearty and weightless, groaned with despair in unison. : 12 And Bevesta spake again a sequel: : 13 "He, in his time, were My kin of same parent and king to My fertile moment, and I called Him Kalle. : 14 He, before the hour of His child, battled in past for the rights to Vereva and the rights of those of His likeness, the Trolls. : 15 Shall had He won, He and those of His likeness shall had and will had and shall had and will had been proprietor of realms mortal and heavenly and eternal. : 16 Shall had He lost, He shall had and will had and shall had and will had spake His word final and taken slumber eternal in silence, : 17 And His kind shall had and will had and shall had and will had taken adherence in His silence with loss of sentience. : 18 And shall has He and it were so. : 19 As dull and listless as fauna are now e'er and e'er those of His likeness the Trolls maimed through loss of sentience." : 20 And so again Vereva and its races large and tall, hearty and weightless, groaned with despair in unison. : 21 And those of Her likeness were keen and content, though the four and four and two others were upset. : 22 They then brought Her gifts of herbs and plants and animal limbs all medicinal and they begged: : 23 "In kindness we give to Thee herb and plant and limb that you may heal and grace us, : 24 That you may safeguard our sentience." : 25 And the Goddess of the Thaumaturge Form took Her gifts and replied: : 26 "To aid your sentience, I must and shall and will cure first my wounds, : 27 To aid your sentience, I must and shall and will birth second the flower of My fertility, : 28 To aid your sentience, I must and shall and will need final aid of you." : 29 And the four and four and three races obliged save those of Her likeness which were certain of the safety of their sentience. : 30 They took Her to a grand civilization on the coast of the plains : 31 And they wiped away fluids of Her bodily wounds which were chartreuse, : 32 And rubbed Her bruises with ointments of flowers full bloom in the cold Month of the Darkeness : 33 And straightened Her mangled limbs with own hands worn and calloused. : 34 And Her pains ended and She and those of Her likeness purred in relief of great stress alleviated. : 35 And She spake to them a gratitude with great health in the spring: : 36 "Four and four and two, I am e'er grateful to you." Birth of Xahl : 1 And the four and four and two, and those of Her likeness awaited the second sign of Her coming promise. : 2 And yeah, they awaited the birth of the flower of Her fertility, : 3 And he did come ten and five sleeping cycles, ten and five waking cycles after Her return to fair health. : 4 And He were born a time in a month of spring and She bore him immodestly, in Her own nudity. : 5 And on that day the races four and four and three rejoiced, : 6 And so rejoiced ev'ry animal and ev'ry plant until Vereva sang in a single voice as hymn. : 7 And so He were born and He were male and it was so. : 8 And She instructed: : 9 "He were born and of Vereva, how solemn; but with solace, His name is yet chosen by His kin born of same parent. : 10 Yeah, His brother, Khebryel, let the two soon meet. : 11 And His brother asked to call Him Xahl. And I order now; all call Him now Xahl, : 12 And this act is blessed and it is so. : 13 And this cycle of time waking, this is the cycle of the birth of My son and the son of Kalle, and the kin of Khebryel born of same parent, : 14 And that you each mark this cycle blessed and rememb'red: : 15 For this is His cycle, cycle tenth and fifth, the Solace of Xahl, call it Xahlis; this is His cycle and it is blessed and it is so." : 16 And it were so as She ordained and they called Him Xahl and He were blessed : 17 And they called His cycle Xahlis and it were blessed. : 18 Though the four and four and three grew curious once more and they inquired: : 19 "And who to us is That One; Khebryel, His elder, His brother still in heavenly realm, His kin born of same parent?" : 20 And she spake quite fondly: : 21 "That One called Khebryel is first flower bloomed of My fertility; Mine son still of heavenly realm close to Mine heart. : 22 And as it were, He is Khebryel, God of the Dwarf Form. : 23 And He battle for the rights to Vereva and the rights of those of His likeness, the Dwarves. : 24 Shall He win, He and those of His likeness shall and will and shall and will be proprietor of realms mortal and heavenly and eternal. : 25 Shall He lose, He shall and will and shall and will speak His word final and take slumber eternal in silence, : 26 And His kind shall and will and shall and will take adherence in His silence with loss of sentience." : 27 And those of the likeness of Khebryel rejoiced, knowing of He whose likeness from which they descend. : 28 And Bevesta hushed them: : 29 "But He is still a youth among gods, untraveled and unwise, : 30 And with His father parent e'er died and His mother parent on Vereva, He is of the doom of failure." Faith in practice Sorcery : See also: Majick[3] : See also: Sorcery In the final chapter of the Anthology[2], the goddess Bevesta was said to have given each of the remaining sentient races a parting gift. These gifts may be referred to as the race's sentient feature[4] in scientific jargon or its sorcery[5] in religious jargon. Each of these sorceries are unique to the sentient race who carries the attribute, though non-sentient flora and fauna may share the feature. The features are listed between verses 13 and 33 of the Thaumopaedia chapter Gifts of Bevesta. : "To the Giants in the Wandering Forests, She gave dominion over the animal kingdom. : The Giants were then able to speak with and tame all the wild beasts of Vereva; : All save sentient being were under their command. : To the Minotaurs roaming the Rolling Plains, She gifted them unbreakable resilience. : The Minotaurs learned determination and perseverance, : Toning their bodies, minds and culture to succeed in all endeavor. : To the Humans near the Luring Rock, She gifted them limitless innovation. : The Humans thus became curious and intelligent, : No problem could fix they not. : To the Aelves of the Isles, She bestowed wisdom unencumb'red : The Aelves then aged slowly and to greater extents : And spread kind thought and philosophy to all who leant ear as Her mortal eyes. : To the Dwarves of the Far North, She engendered unsurpassed tolerance. : The Dwarves grew thick-skinned and hearty, : Able to withstand the natural elements. : To the Gnomes timid within the Caverns, She charmed them with surreal crafts. : The Gnomes became knowledgable about the world around them : And manipulate nature for their benefit. : To the Thaumaturges waltzing the Endless Sands, She endowed the soul of Vereva herself. : The Thaumaturges became aware of faith and prayer : And were able to call upon mircales in their time of need." : (Thaumopaedia; Chapter 12, Verses 13-33) * Aelves were given longevity; they live centuries longer than the other races. * Dwarves were given armored skin; their bodies are able to withstand great force and a wide range of temperature. * Giants were given the ability to communicate with non-sentient creatures; they could speak with all plants and animals. * Gnomes were given the ability to manipulate the forces of nature; they could change the temperature and make up of non-living things around them by touch. * Humans were given superior intelligence; they can better the world through science and technology * Minotaurs were given great physicality and strength; they can lift great amounts, run greater speeds and survive worse conditions than other races * Thaumaturges were given Majick; they can perform miracles through praying to Xahl. Majick : Main: Majick The holiest piece of the Majicium faith is the Thaumaturges' sorcery of Majick. Majick, once only a feature of plants and animals. Majicks are feats and actions, concepts and miracles unexplainable through Verevian sciences. Non-sentient species cast Majicks at will, but most Thaumaturge Majicks require praying, and may be immediately answered, or take entire lifetimes to be answered. Not all prayers get answered. Clergymen Holidays Symbolism Sacred sites Derived faiths * Bevesteism: : Bevesteism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Bevesta, Goddess of the Thaumaturge Form. Acting as the primary branch of the faith, Bevesta is regarded as the leader of the gods of Majicium. The branch is official only in the nation of Bevesta, where in practice its practitioners pray to both Bevesta and her youngest son Xahl. Prayer to Bevesta is done to ask for answers and guidance for moral issues and prayer to Xahl is done as a requirement for performing Majick. Xahl, in all branches, is believed to have been left on Vereva to watch over the people. In Bevesteism, the leaders of the nation Bevesta are considered the direct descendants of Xahl and therefore of Bevesta. This blood of the gods in their veins makes them the rightful heirs to Vereva. In current times, practitioners also pray to Bevesta for the return of Majick. In religious art, Bevesta is depicted as a woman with green hair a mile in length, often in the middle of pregnancy (regardless as to whether both her children are depicted in the art as well.) * Asrimism : Asrimism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Asrim, God of the Aelf Form. Asrimism has only been official in Avelamb and Attelith but is the longest continuous official religion in the world, being established in te year 32 EAB. It is the counterfaith of modern Bevesteism, used to pray to Bevesta to maintain punishment over the peoples through eternal loss of Majick and any other sorcery that would cause war. The god of morality in Asrimism is the Aelf Asrim, who is worshipped through ecological practices, especially those which promote plant life. In art, Asrim, the oldest of the gods, is depicted as a tall, fragile elderly Aelf who uses an opal tree as a walking cane. * Cleism: : Cleism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Cle, God of the Ogre Form. Cle and Palmirra were the fourth and fifth gods to be sent to their death on Vereva and died together, landing in the desert sands. Their bodies were driven deep under ground by the force that smote them and two oases grew from their bodies and were named for them. Because Cle was the father of Bevesta, Cleism is practiced as patriarchy. The worship of male beings, male organs, and male plants and animals is the main defining characteristic of Cleism. Practitioners of Cleism pray to Xahl. Most prayers and practices are done to ask for a male child during pregnancy. Cleism opposes Palmirrism and has only been official in the former nation of Wersza. * Eivissism: : Eivissism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Eivissa, Goddess of the Manticore Form. Eivissa was the second of the gods to be sent to death on Vereva and she was sent by her own father Mattias. Alike Cle and Palmirra, Eivissa fell to a region in modern Bevesta onto a previously unnamed island. Her body was driven deeply into the earth and became a forest that covered the island. Eivissism has had official status and recognition in only Attelith, and is practiced by worship of the Manticores, and other feline creatures, and prayer to Xahl. * Gertruism: : Gertruism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Gertrud, Goddess of the Giant Form. Gertruism has been practiced in Hyldiaand Eidriel. It is practiced through prayer to Xahl, asking him to keep Gertrud safe through the entirety of the Cataclysm and to allow the Giants to win all wars. Gertruism became a dead religion upon the fall of Eidriel. Gertrud is depicted as the smallest of the gods; the head of a middle aged woman on the body of baby. She was made small by her husband and brother Mattias who imprisoned her so that she may not convince him to end the Cataclysm. * Kalleism : Kalleism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Kalle, God of the Troll Form. Kalle is the brother and husband of the Goddess Bevesta, and the father of Xahl and Khebryel. Kalleism is a religion practiced via spiritual worship of high hills and mountains. The belief is that the snow covered tips of the mountains are the stains of Kalle's blood and therefore only the mountains may now carry out Kalle's will. The religion has been official in Kalle and is the hereby official religion of Abbu-Symbell. In Kalleism, Kalle is the leader of the gods. * Khebryelism : Khebryelism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Khebryel, God of the Dwarf Form. Khebryel is the first son of Bevesta. He is depicted in religious art as a small Dwarf child with blue hair who wields a trident three times his height. Khebryelism practices permit its Majicians to pray directly to Khebryel, and never to Xahl who is not regarded as a being of spiritual importance at all. Due to the difference in the overall religious importance of the first child (Khebryel) against the second child (Xahl) in Khebryelism, the first child of a family is regarded as the carrier of a family legacy, giving their wife their last name upon marriage. Other children upon marriage use their middle name as their last name when wed. This is still in effect in Vy Mirvë, though Khebryelism is no longer recognized there as it was in ancient Vy Mirvë and in Cwentach. Khebryel was also said to be the third party to instigate the Cataclysm in some faiths though Khebryelism itself is never marked as occult. * Mattiaism: : Mattiaism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Mattias, God of the Human Form. Mattias is blamed in most faiths as the instigator of the Cataclysm[1] and the murderer of the five fallen gods, and as such, he is dark god whose worship is considered occult or sacrilege. The negativity of the faith also translated into society as Human slavery. Mattiaism, as a faith, was short-lived and held highly only by Humans of Port Neith during its limited time as a sovereign nation. In art, Mattias is depicted as a charismatic adolescent, in apposition with the ages of his children Mjrn, Na and Eivissa who are often sketched as young or middle-aged adults. * Mjrnism: : Mjrnism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Mjrn, Goddess of the Minotaur Form. Mjrnism is drawn as a beautiful gardener and maiden with long dark hair. She wears full body armor and many sheathed gardening utensils that she uses as weapons. In the story of her lineage, she is the daughter of Mattias and Gertrud, and eldest of her siblings Na and Eivissa. Using her great knowledge in agriculture and great battle tactics, she helped lead Mattias and Khebryel instigate the Cataclysm. Mjrnism is not viewed as negatively as Mattiaism, though it has the stigma of light occultism. Mjrn is the Goddess of War, Agriculture and Beauty, and her worshipping practices can still be seen in modern cultures of the Great Continent, where Mjrnism was the official religion of Kahrim, Kjerba and Kartago. * Naism: : Naism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Na, God of the Gnome Form. Na is always depicted as the largest of the gods despite that his descendent race was the shortest of the races. He is a tall, scarred Gnome swordsman who alongside Rigori took the first stand against father Mattias. Naism is practiced through the mastery of different weapons martial arts performed in the mist[3]. Naism was only prevalent in the ancient civilizations of Hyldiaand Eidriel. * Palmirrism : Palmirrism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Palmirra, Goddess of the Treant Form. Alike Asrimism, Palmirrism focuses heavily on appreciation and worship of nature. Prayers to Palmirra were often ended with phrases like "so that I may become a flower," as the highest form of thought and sentience was thought to be becoming more like Palmirra and therefore more like a plant. Palmirrism also has a great amount of matriarchal religious practices. Palmirra, the mother of Bevesta who is viewed as the leader of the gods, permits worship of fertility, women, and female organs. Palmirrism was officially recognized only in Baraquish, though it also is significant to the nation Bevesta where the goddess is said to have fallen to her death in the sand, creating the oasis paradise given her name. * Rigorism: : Rigorism is the sect of Majicium centered around worship of Rigori, God of the Centaur Form. As the God of the Heavens, the Skies and the Weather, he is depicted as an elderly Centaur man who wields a longbow whose three strings are made of constellations riding the back of his great nephew Na. Rigori, with Na beside him, was one of the first two gods to stand against Mattias and the way his faith is handled is much like that of Naism. Comparison to other religions History : See also: History of Vereva Official status Social status See also * Avelamb * Bevesta (deity) * Bevesta (nation) * History of Vereva * Majick * Sentient Races * Sentient Feature * Sorcery * Thaumaturges Category:Culture of Vereva Category:Vereva